Den Mother
by Estel Kenobi
Summary: It's Lily's nature to protect...no matter the enemy.


There had to be some irony in the fact that it took out RJ first.

Their mentor, their leader. He was the strongest, most experienced. It shocked them all how fast he went down. And though it attacked everyone…it hit RJ the hardest.

So while Casey and Theo lay in their hammocks, miserably coughing and sneezing, RJ was locked in the bathroom, retching so hard it sounded as if all his internal organs would soon give a unanimous cry of "abandon ship!" and promptly expel themselves.

Needless to say…Jungle Karma Pizza was closed for the day.

Lily, yellow ranger, spirit of the cheetah, and den mother extraordinaire, took it all in stride…making sure her boys had a steady supply of toast, juice, and a whole lot of tissues. She scurried from one hammock to another, tucking blankets around her shivering teammates, knowing they would only be kicked away again a few minutes later. Then she'd be back with a damp cloth to try and sooth the heat from their sweaty faces.

"Lily…" Theo protested in a rare moment of lucidity, catching her wrist as she smoothed back his damp hair, "You don't have to do this. It's just a little bug, we'll be fine."

The yellow ranger just arched an unimpressed eyebrow and pressed another glass of juice into his hand.

"Please don't talk about bugs…" a weak voice protested from across the room. Casey's shudder had little to do with the fever setting his body aflame, his revolted look lost in another fit of coughing.

"Try not talking at all," Lily admonished, rushing to help Casey sit up so he wouldn't choke. "The two of you need to focus your strength on getting better."

"You mean the three of us…" Theo muttered, but in a softer tone, making a face at the sounds of gagging they could hear coming from the bathroom.

Lily eased Casey back down, adjusting his pillow and absently patting his shoulder, her worried gaze fixed on the bathroom door as she stood and drifted closer to where her teacher was suffering alone. His choice, but it clashed with every instinct she possessed and only her respect for the man kept Lily from bullying her way in there.

Every time she tapped on the door it would open a crack and a pale, trembling hand would accept whatever offering she brought. Water…Gatorade…hot tea…flat coke or ginger ale…juice…broth…anything to try and keep him hydrated. But she knew a losing battle when she saw one. Or heard one as the case may be.

It was painfully apparent that RJ could keep nothing down longer then several minutes…dry heaving for untold periods after that. It was driving her absolutely mad with helplessness.

She compensated by fussing over Casey and Theo twice as much.

Lily knew it was starting to annoy them. They tried to hide it…her teammates had good hearts and didn't want to hurt her feelings. Especially not when they genuinely appreciated how much she cared, catering to their every need even when it involved things unpleasant as snot and phlegm. But touched as they were, they were still guys and too much mothering left them embarrassed and uncomfortable.

She couldn't help it. These were her friends. Her family. She _needed _to take care of them, protect them. Whether the enemy was Rinshi or illness, her place was between them and it.

_Your place is at their side, _a voice in her head gently corrected. A voice that sounded remarkably like RJ. _Who's going to protect _you_ if you're standing alone?_

Lily shook her head, the heartfelt lecture from days before ringing in her ears. RJ had not been cruel…but neither did he mince words when it came to what he thought of going into battle without her team behind her; his passion likely fueled by knowing with frightening precision what could have happened to her. And so quick on the heels of what happened to Casey…

Perhaps she understood RJ better then either of them suspected. He could wipe the floor with what they struggled to defeat…yet he stayed behind. Allowed them to cut their teeth. To fight, to fail, to get up again and in so doing…to grow. But for all his confidence in their abilities, for all his professed nonchalance over the danger, remaining on the sidelines had to wear on him.

Always holding yourself back was an exhausting practice to maintain. Knowing you could help someone but respecting them enough to maintain your distance…Lily could feel it tear her in two different directions and wondered how RJ kept doing it day after day.

A mighty sneeze drew her attention back the present. She snatched up another box of tissues and hurried back to Theo. The blue ranger was holding a hand to his nose and looking quite disgusted with himself. "I thought rangers didn't get sick," he groused, twisting as much as he could in his hammock in an attempt to clean his face in private.

"And what would make you think that?" Lily obligingly turned her back, picking up Casey's empty glass and heading for the kitchen to refill it. "Have you ever spoken to one personally? Gotten hold of their medical history?" she called back up the stairs, knowing she should make a better effort to conceal the teasing tone if she really wanted to get his gander up.

"Of course not but everyone knows —"

"Don't shout, Theo, you're already losing your voice."

"Then don't walk away when you ask a question!"

Lily grinned at the irritated response. It was comforting. If Theo felt well enough to verbally spar with her then she could dial back her worry a little. Or her "Mommy-Meter" as her best friend had taken to calling it. She fully planned on getting back at Theo for that…once he was back on his feet.

RJ on the other hand…she paused at the top of the stairs, glass of apple juice in hand, hearing a strangled cry followed by violent retching. Her jaw clenched, teeth grating together. She was halfway back down the stairs before she remembered that she still had a death grip on Casey's drink and had to turn around again, somehow managing not to spill anything in her haste.

Once in the kitchen, Lily started pulling open cupboards till she found what she needed and dumped the can of chicken soup in a bowl, shoving it in the microwave. The yellow ranger bounced on the balls of her feet, willing the glowing green numbers to count down faster.

It still baffled her why RJ even owned a microwave. He was a brilliant chef. And yet his kitchen remained stocked with Campbell's and Chef Boyardee. It made no sense.

Perhaps she'd been getting ahead of herself, _again, _thinking she understood him. Maybe a small part of him…but really, the man remained a mystery. Like someone handed her a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing. Some of them would fit together but there would still be a heaping pile that didn't seem to belong anywhere.

Lily hated puzzles. That was Theo's domain…not hers.

The microwave beeped and she eagerly threw open the door, snatching up the bowl only to throw it back down a second later with a startled exclamation of "Hot!" Broth sloshed over the edge as Lily shook her smarting fingers with a growl. Speed was not on her side today.

But once the ceramic had cooled enough for her to grasp it without too much pain Lily was hurrying back up the stairs. Or as much as she could conceivably "hurry" without spilling more of the soup. Which wasn't nearly fast enough. Especially not when the heat was starting to burn her hands again. She probably should have waited a little longer…or grabbed an oven mitt. Yeah, that would have been smart.

Lily clunked the bowl against the bathroom door since her hands were too full to knock. When there was no response she tapped again and pressed her ear against the wood, listening for the telltale shuffling that meant RJ was making his way closer.

There was nothing. Just…silence.

She bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder. Casey and Theo were watching from their hammock's, looking more concerned the longer there wasn't an answer.

"Maybe…" Casey's voice cracked and he coughed, "maybe you should just leave it by the door, Lil. I'm sure he's fine."

But the worried creases furrowing the red ranger's forehead suggested he didn't really believe that. Lily scowled and balanced the soup on her knee to test the doorknob. The door opened with barely a click.

_Respect be damned…_

"Lily!"

She ignored Theo's warning hiss and slipped into the dark room.

The smell was sickening. And yeah, she realized how bad a pun that was as soon as the thought crossed her mind. Lily wrinkled her nose and dipped her head down, breathing through her mouth as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the gloom.

Strangely, the first thing she noticed was RJ's shirt lying at her feet. She looked up and felt her breath catch in her throat. RJ was slumped into a corner where the tub met the wall, bare-chested, eyes closed, far too still. She barely had the presence of mind to put the bowl of soup down before rushing to his side.

Lily held the back of her hand to his face and hissed at the unnatural heat…he was burning up. Her hand moved to hover over his parted mouth. She relaxed a little at the faint stir of breath against her skin, trying to chide herself for freaking out but not quite able to manage it as her own breath left her in a relieved whoosh.

Now that she was so close she could see, and unfortunately smell, just how much he'd been sweating. No doubt the reason he'd discarded the shirt now crumpled on the floor. And with its absence Lily was shocked to realize how skinny RJ actually was. Toned, yes. _Quite_. But still abnormally lean. She knew he always wore baggy clothing but…she hadn't thought…god he was always eating! Just how fast was his metabolism? And what would a day without sustenance do to him? As if nearly hurling up his insides wasn't draining enough…

Lily moved back to the sink and pulled a hand towel off the rack, soaking it in cold water before settling next to her teacher again. She dabbed at his face and neck the same way she had done for Casey and Theo.

RJ stirred at the cool touch, brow knitting slightly. His eyes were glassy as he blinked hard, seeming to have difficulty focusing on her face. His jaw worked but no sound came out. Then suddenly he stiffened. Lily saw all the muscles in his abdomen seize before he lunged for the toilet.

The young master clung desperately to the bowl as his stomach heaved; trying its damnedest force out what simply wasn't there. Tremors still raced through his body even after the dry heaving ceased and RJ rested his burning forehead against the cool porcelain, a low whine catching in his throat.

Lily shuddered. It sounded too much like the old Husky her father had rescued from an abusive owner…he'd made that same noise whenever anyone other then dad had gotten close. She rested a hand on RJ's shoulder but he flinched away. "Lily, please…"

She didn't know what stung more, his reaction to her touch or the note of begging in that raspy whisper. Her face flushed crimson and she hurried out of the bathroom, the sound of more gagging and spitting following her. She didn't know where the heated shame was coming from…it wasn't as if she'd disobeyed him. And she was only trying to help…

So why was she left with the nagging sensation that she'd somehow betrayed her master?

"Lil—"

There was a panicked shout followed a very loud thud and clatter. Lily spun around to find Casey half on the floor, one leg suspended in the air, caught in the fabric of his hammock which was somehow turned upside down and completely twisted in knots. Theo was attempting to yell at him but coughing too hard. Nearly doubled over, he seemed to decide that chucking used tissues at the red ranger's face would get his point across just as well.

With a cry of protest, Casey scrambled on his hands for his own arsenal, leg still held captive by the snarled red fabric. Soon used tissues were flying in unending volleys across the room and Lily realized with dismay that in their current condition, her teammates had a practically limitless supply of ammunition.

"Men…"she growled with profound distaste.

0-0-0-0-0-0

At the end of the day…all Lily could think was, "_At least Jarrod hasn't attacked."_ Or Dai Chi…or whatever the hell he was at this point. A battle would have just been the icing on the damn cake. But of course it begged the question of why he'd wasted such a perfect opportunity to kick them when they were down…

_I hope it means the bastard caught whatever we have…_Lily thought darkly and she collapsed into bed. _I hope he's more miserable then all of us combined._

A throbbing ache had settled between her temples around the time she'd finally managed to disentangle Casey from his hammock. It only grew in intensity as the day progressed. By the time the sun went down she was in agony, violently cursing the herbal tea that failed to bring relief. Or maybe it did and the shooting pain behind her eyes would have been worse without it. The prospect made her groan. Which in turn made her cough since her throat had picked up an annoying tickle somewhere between making dinner and helping Casey and Theo down to JKP's public restroom as RJ had yet to leave his hidey hole.

They both seemed to be sleeping now, or at least trying to. Which meant she could try and rest herself…although she didn't plan on sleeping. Not yet anyway. The last thing she needed was for Casey to have a dizzy spell trying to get to the bathroom and take a header down the stairs. Again.

She was just going to close her eyes for a minute…maybe two…

The next thing Lily knew she was blinking herself awake, a feather light touch ghosting over her forehead.

"Go back to sleep…"

The voice was raspy, it's owner's throat burned raw from the untold amounts of bile torn past it over the course of the day. RJ...

Lily squinted up at him, sight blurring a bit before focusing on the man standing next to her bed in a pool of moonlight filtering down through the skylight. He looked…better. He must have showered since his hair was wet but the stench of sweat and…other, far less pleasant things, was gone. He was still pale. Or maybe that was a trick of the moonlight…she couldn't tell. But he had an arm wrapped tightly around his stomach and that couldn't be a good sign. Lily started to struggle up when a gentle but firm hand held her back.

"Rest..."

She shook her head, "I need to take care of you…all of you. Casey…Theo…"

A faint smile crossed RJ's face and he shook his head, crouching down beside her. "Don't mix-up our roles, Lily. I'm the master. It's my responsibility to look after my cubs. I let that weight fall on your shoulders quite long enough…."

Lily frowned, "You were sick," she protested, not able to help noticing even as she defended him that his eyes were clear again, catching the light from the full moon.

That same indulgent smile returned, "Yes…I had noticed that."

"You should eat something…" Again she tried to get up. Again he held her back.

"What did _you _eat all day?"

"I--" she actually had to stop and think about that…only to realize she didn't remember. Surely she'd grabbed some crackers or…something…

RJ sighed, "You still haven't learned, have you? Still looking after everyone but yourself."

"But, RJ—"

He held up a finger to silence her, "Den mother or not…you're still my cub, Lily. Remember that. Remember your place…and mine. I'm supposed to look out for _you_."

She got it then…why he'd pushed her away. Why he hadn't wanted her to see him in such a weak place. It wasn't just pride…he felt guilty. Like he'd failed his charges by not being there when they needed caring for. The fact she'd run herself ragged was only heightening his self degradation.

So right now…the best way for her to take of RJ…was to let him take care of her.

And really, was that such a bad thing? She was exhausted…achy…her head felt like someone had stuffed it full of cotton. So she relaxed and let him adjust her pillow and pull the yellow blanket up to her chin, carefully tucking it around her shoulders. His hand lingered on her forehead, gauging the unnatural heat. Apparently satisfied he offered one last smile and a croaked _goodnight. _And apparently their little exchange had killed what was left of his voice.

Lily watched him shuffle around the room, repeating the process with Theo and Casey, assuring himself everyone was alright before crawling onto his yoga mat with a quiet groan. One arm remained firmly curled around his middle at all times. That and his hunched shoulders told her he still wasn't entirely well. But his eyes were sharp as he scanned the room once before settling into a meditative stance. He couldn't sleep out in the open like this…but he would rest. And he would be alert in an instant if his cubs needed him. Lily didn't doubt he would take on Dai Chi himself if the ancient baddie decided to make trouble tonight. But honestly…she'd _never _doubted that.

-fin-


End file.
